Ratings agencies have played a central role in the financial drama that has engulfed the world since 2007.

First, they were accused of being too lenient in their assessment of the packaged mortgages that lubricated the unsustainable boom before the credit crunch hit.

Then, when the downturn came and the sovereign debt crisis developed, they were accused of being too tough. Moody's, one of the biggest agencies, downgraded Greece's credit rating at the height of its crisis in April, pushing the country into an IMF-led bailout.

However, the agencies have been strangely silent as Ireland has slipped into crisis. Standard & Poor's and Moody's, which usually note significant changes impacting a company, a country or any asset they rate, are "monitoring the situation" in Ireland. Fitch, the smallest of the top agencies, issued a statement on Thursday acknowledging the struggle of Irish banks to fund themselves in the market. S&P's last comment on Ireland was on 24 August, and Moody's on 5 October.

Surprisingly, Moody's and Standard & Poor's have Ireland on their fourth-highest rating. While the top rating is AAA — still enjoyed by Britain — Fitch rates Ireland A+, while Moody's rates it Aa2 and S&P AA-.

Brussels officials were furious at Moody's over the Greece downgrade at the peak of the crisis, which had the effect of making Greek borrowing more expensive and further eroding confidence in the economy. Many market experts had expected Ireland to have been the focus of the agencies recently.

"I am staggered," said Gary Jenkins, head of fixed income at Evolution Securities. "One doesn't have to be a conspiracy theorist to think there is something rather odd about the silence of the rating agencies ... I think the EU has leant on the agencies to ensure they do not make a bad situation even worse."